


Smells like paint

by purplefox



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alpha Akira, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Oneshot, Scenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-07 21:09:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17968103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplefox/pseuds/purplefox
Summary: Yusuke has a rather calming scent. For Akira who suffers blockers, suppressants and too much noise. Yusuke is a needed ease.





	Smells like paint

**Author's Note:**

> I love A/B/O it's one of my fav tropes to read
> 
> And I enjoy writing it too!!

Akira hated the suppressors. He hated the smell and he hated how they made him feel. He was constantly disconnected and it felt odd. It was irritating and he hated that he had to take more suppressors than anyone else. It just pissed him off that on top of everything else he had to take more of the thing that made him feel like crap.

He was not gloating or anything but it felt good to be in the Metaverse. His nose did not hurt, his tongue did not feel heavy and he felt alive. He was Joker, he was the leader of the phantom thieves and being there in the metaverse made him feel more alive than he had been since he had taken his first suppressant.

When he had been moved to Tokyo he had done everything he could to fit in. even when it burned at him. Even when the whispers got ugly and his head swam from taking so many suppressants. Even when his nose was clogged up and his throat was so raw that he felt that he would die.

Even when all he heard was whispers and assumptions. Even when deep inside of him he felt as though he was being torn apart. He had fought on. He had struggled on and it was not fair. He knew it was not fair how he had to struggle. But the chains were just too tight.

That was why the first chain to break had shown him Arsene. The next set of chains had been the Thieves. He had a purpose and Akira could run free. No matter what, he was allowed to roam as he was in mementos. There was no fear and no whispers. For the first time in a long time he was in control and he had people by his side.

The door had been opened and all he had to do was run right through it and keep going. He had people by his side and he loved it. The world had changed. Smells were everywhere and the scent of the world was amazing without suppressants. They might be mandatory but not everyone loved them.

There was a world of complaints and dissatisfaction that Akira had no idea about until he became Joker. Alphas who tried to force themselves to be Omegas to fit an image. Ann’s true scent was so much better. Even if she still used suppressants to control her scent and the Alpha affects.

Omegas who tried to be Betas or even Alphas. Omegas that Suppressants did not work on. The world around and behind suppressants was an awful place.

Betas who needed the edge that Suppressants gave them to avoid being doused by Alphas or thrown away by Omegas. People with no scent at all. People whose bodies rejected scent. People who were like literal ghosts and had to use suppressants in order not to throw off people.

Akira got that suppressants were supposed to unify people. They were all supposed to be the same and no one was supposed to have an unfair advantage over the other. They were supposed to be normal. Tone down the extremes. He was willing to bet that for most people that worked.

But they, but so many people they were not normal people. Suppressants sucked. There was always the feeling of something missing. Always the feeling of something being taken away slowly. The feeling of missing a limb. One always felt like some animal out of place.

Maybe Futaba put it best after all. A wild animal dumped in the middle of a mall and expected not to cause in trouble just adapt. That was what it felt like. That was what it smelled like.

They were all human. What kind of person or what endotype they ended up being. Did it really matter? Akira missed the proper smell of anything. So he loved the Metaverse. He loved not feeling sluggish, he loved using his body to the fullest. He loved pushing his limits. He loved being a phantom thief. He felt alive.

And from the way that everyone else reacted he knew that they loved it too. They all had their reasons for joining but Akira felt as though they stayed for the same reason. Or similar reasons. They could be themselves. They could find themselves. They could relax themselves, express themselves without fear coming down on all their heads. They had nothing to fear from each other. They were all on the same level. They depended on each other. They were more than what the world saw and that was amazing.

Like Yusuke.

How he managed to keep it together Akira had no clue. He had been so angry and so frustrated. Now he was the best backup that Akira had ever had.

Beautiful and deadly. The anger and ferocity that could cross that pretty face… Damn. It was not as if Akira liked Yusuke because he was an Omega. If anything Yusuke had taught him that he had not learned much from the situation with Ann. Looks had nothing to do with anything.

Granted Akira’s head had been killing him that morning from the suppressants. There had been no real chance to closely sniff anything out. He had read Yusuke based on his actions and overtime been proven wrong. Akira loved how wrong he had been proved.

Beautiful, graceful and vengeful. There was nothing like Yusuke and nothing like the way he worked. Nothing like the way he moved with a sword in the metaverse and with a paintbrush outside of it. There were two huge pictures of Yusuke in Akira’s head.

What the world saw. Madarame’s talented pupil. Beautiful. Startlingly so, uncomfortably so. Talented and with a faint Omega scent. Then there was what Akira got to see. Fox.

A sword that was unmatched. Swiftness. Precision. A crafty mind. A body that would get up over and over again. Something sleek and able to dodge shadows so easily. And the scent. Akira had never smelled an Omega that good. He was not letting it get to him but Yusuke’s scent was a combination of things and if Akira let his guard down it always got to him.

He had been struck speechless the first time his suppressants had worn off. It had been like the sun had just risen after years of darkness. He had blinked and blinked as Yusuke and Ryuji argued. He had been shocked into silence because how could no one smell that?

But he had pulled himself together. He was a leader. They had something to do and while Akira hated suppressants and being restrained he was not a dick. A nice scent was a nice scent but it was about people too.

The amount of people that had raved about Kamoshida’s scent said enough on that matter.

But things had moved along and before Akira knew it the Phantom thieves had Fox. Maybe he had been a little too obvious about things but in Akira’s defence. Yusuke smelled really good. His scent was always changing. Due to his activities. Or due to what he had felt or seen that day. His scent painted a story and Akira loved to listen to his nose.

Ryuji had given him heat in the beginning so Akira had been quick to tease the Omega and reassure Ryuji that Akira loved his scent too. To the amusement of Ann and Morgana, Akira would pretend to scent Ryuji while the other boy laughed and shoved him away.

That had been harmless fun but it turned out Yusuke did not like mixed signals.

It had been one the most electrifying moments of Akira’s life. Yusuke had held him against a wall in Mementos and scented Akira until his head was swimming. Akira’s knees had shook. He had grown hot and flushed as he gasped loudly.

 _“You smell like paint and I want to eat it.”_ Had slipped from his scent drunk lips the moment that Yusuke had pulled away from him. Akira had been slumped against the wall and fighting for the braincells that had escaped. Yusuke had laughed at his words.

 _“Paint can be poisonous Joker.”_ Yusuke had strapped back on his sword and moved his tail out of the way of his sword.

 _“Guess you’re the edible kind.”_ Akira had whispered. Before he had cleared his throat. _“And… everyone is going to smell you on me.”_

 _“I know.”_ Yusuke had given him a strong look from under his mask. _“It should make things clear. After all, we smell like you. All of us. No matter the designation but Joker… you smell like no one. Now you will.”_

Yusuke had left him and returned to the others after that remark. Akira had sat on the ground and pulled himself together. He knew there were Omegas but Yusuke was an Omega to the core. He had just scent claimed Akira and gone about his day. Grabbed him by the throat and made Akira his, claimed Joker so easily. And Akira was into that.

He had been polite. He had been enjoying himself. he thought he had been keeping a good distance but Yusuke had made a move. Told Akira that he was interested and not just interested. That he wanted the world to know.

Honestly. The best thing that had ever happened to him was the damn phantom thieves.

X

“It’s so sweet in here.” Akira murmured sleepily as he watched Yusuke sketch in the middle of his dorm room. “Smells like you and paint. Makes me sleepy but it smells really good.”

“The more you say that.” Yusuke lowered his pencil to chuckle lowly. “The more I think that I’ve been painting so much and for so long that the smell has penetrated down to my bones. That I’ll never get it out. Maybe that’s the scent of destiny. A sign of a true artist.”

“I don’t know.” Akira murmured softly. “You smell like… a box of paint. Different colours and they paint a story. The story keeps changing but the lingering sweetness of the paint. I can’t get enough. It takes the fog away.”

“I hate how the suppressants have you.” Yusuke paused before he raised his pencil once more. “But soon your friend at the clinic will be able to provide more assistance. You’re not the only one that prefers a clean scent. I’ve grown rather fond of the smell of cinnamon and vanilla.” Yusuke’s smile was so warm that Akira had to chuckle low in his throat as he wrapped his arms around himself and continued to watch his boyfriend sketch.

 

 


End file.
